Switchgear cabinet or rack

ABSTRACT

A switchgear cabinet or rack comprises a mounting unit with vertical mounting sections laterally delimiting a cabinet frame for installed user-side units, said sections having flat fixing sections that lie on a front mounting plane used to fix laterally projecting mounting sections of the installed units, and comprising components for determining the presence of an installed unit in an installation position of the cabinet frame. A vertical antenna strip contains antenna elements and code carriers as transponder elements. In order to ensure the secure installation and reliable functioning of the detection device, each transponder element is attached to the mounting section of the associated installed unit that adjoins the antenna strip by a retaining element via a connecting section and the retaining element has a support section that adjoins the connecting section and projects outwards, parallel to the mounting plane. The transponder element is attached to the support section.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a switchgear cabinet or rack comprising a mounting unit, the front of which has vertical mounting profiles that laterally delimit an installation space for installed user-side units, said profiles having flat fixing sections that lie on a front mounting plane and that are used to fix laterally projecting mounting sections of the installed units, and comprising components of a detection device for determining the presence of an installed unit in an installation position of the installation space, wherein the components of the detection device have a vertical antenna strip that is attached to a mounting profile and contains antenna elements arranged therein and code carriers that are designed as transponder elements and are provided on the installed units.

Such a switchgear cabinet or such a rack, respectively, is specified in DE 10 2007 034 437 A1. In this known switchgear cabinet, a device for detecting installation components inserted therein is equipped with a detection unit which is connected or may be connected to an evaluation and recording device. In one embodiment, the detection unit comprises a detector strip which is arranged on the mounting plane of installed units and is screwed or adhesively bonded to a frame leg or mounting part, said strip including antenna elements which are sensitive without contact and positioned within grid of one or more units and heights, and transponders, in particular RFID tags, which are arranged at the installed units. The strip-shaped antenna array thereby can be combined from several antenna modules plugged by means of plug-coupling units which respectively comprise a narrow, longitudinal extending, strip-like plastic housing for covering several units of height. Said housing which may also extend over the total height of the accommodating region for the installed units possesses fixing features for mounting e.g. at a vertical mounting rail at which also the installed units are attached. Said transponders or RFID tags, respectively, are positioned in the front region of the installed units, in particular server units, at their housing adjacent to said detector strip, so that the antenna elements read information in a near field of the respectively associated transponders which is transmitted to the evaluation and recording device via a data line, or as an alternative, in a wireless manner. The respective RFID tag possesses a unique identification and characterizes the installed unit to be detected which is read via the relevant antenna element under control of a control unit and is transmitted to the evaluation unit together with the associated height position. Attachment of the RFID tags to the installed unit is made by adhesive bonding or screwing. Unique identification of the passive transponder or RFID tag built up in such a manner takes place already at the manufacturing plant.

Mounting the detector strip in the region of the mounting plane of the switchgear cabinet or rack results in beneficial mounting possibilities and a favorable signal detection in conjunction with the transponders. However, due to inaccurate mounting, interferences in signal detection and signal transmission and therefore unreliable position detection or allocation of identification may occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the object of the invention to provide a switchgear cabinet or rack of the type mentioned in the introductory wherein inaccurate or incorrect mounting of the detection unit is excluded as far as possible.

This object is solved by the features of claim 1. Hereby it is provided that the relevant transponder element is attached to the mounting section of the associated installed unit that adjoins the antenna strip by means of a retaining element via a connecting section and the retaining element has a support section that adjoins the connecting section and projects outwards, parallel to the mounting plane, wherein the transponder element is attached to the support section.

With this features, a unique accurate mounting of the transponder elements and a precise allocation of the transponder elements to antenna elements present in the antenna strip is achieved.

A beneficial mounting is favored by the measure that retaining element is flat and is arranged with its connecting section on the rear of the mounting section which is also flat, and is pressed against the front of the fixing section together therewith.

Mounting is favored by adhesively bonding the connecting section to the mounting section.

Further, those features are advantageous for simple and precise mounting that the fixing section is provided with a row of holes of fixing holes arranged in a regular grid spacing, that one or plural mounting holes harmonized with the position of the fixing holes are arranged in said mounting section and that also openings harmonized with the position of the mounting holes are arranged in the connecting section.

A stable accurate mounting is achieved by extending the connecting section in longitudinal direction of the mounting profile along the height of the mounting section, in particular a unit of height HE and extending to the outer side to the free edge of the mounting section.

Additional possibilities for position detection are possible by extending the support section in its height over a fraction of the connecting section.

It is provided that the antenna strip lies on the mounting plane with its front face or is set back by a maximum of 10 mm and that the support section with the transponder element in an installed state of the associated installed unit overlaps the front face of the antenna strip, so transmission security is increased.

Mounting and a secure functioning are also favored by the fact that the mounting profile comprises a cavity which is at least partly adapted to the cross section of the antenna strip, with an abutment section which is set back in relation to the mounting plane at least by the cross section depth of the antenna strip and with an inner boundary wall delimiting the support on its face facing the installation space, into which the fixing section merges.

An embodiment which is advantageous for accurate mounting consists in that said abutment section and the inner boundary wall 13 are arranged perpendicularly in the cross section of the cavity, wherein the abutment section is aligned parallel to the mounting plane and the boundary wall merges perpendicularly into the fixing section, in particular if it is further provided that the antenna strip possesses square or rectangular cross section.

Beneficial possibilities for attachment are further achieved in that a row of retaining holes comprising retaining holes arranged in regular grid spacing is arranged in said abutment section, wherein said retaining holes are square or rectangular with longitudinal faces running in longitudinal direction of the mounting profile, that the antenna strip is provided with retaining hooks on the rear facing to the abutment section which are harmonized to the spacing of the retaining holes or a multiple thereof and which comprise vertical hook sections which have a smaller length than the clear opening width of the retaining holes in vertical direction and which are spaced from the rear outer face of the antenna strip so that they engage behind a wall region of the abutment section surrounding the retaining holes and that spaced antenna elements are arranged in the interior of the antenna strip within grid of a unit of height HE or an integer multiple thereof or in regular partial spacing thereof in longitudinal direction of the antenna unit. These measures also contribute to a reliable functioning.

To recognize the installation position, it is further advantageous that the antenna strip is provided with a cover part on its front side in relation to its installation position which is fixable or removably attached thereto, which is at least in sections transparent, that illuminating elements are arranged in the interior of the antenna strip which are arranged in longitudinal direction of the antenna strip in a regular grid spacing within grid of a unit of height HE or an integer multiple thereof or in regular partial spacing thereof, are individually controllable and are in an illuminating state accurately visible through said transparent cover part and that the support section is opaque and covers at least one illumination element at its front face.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be explained below with the aid of exemplary embodiments with reference to the drawings. It is shown in:

FIG. 1 a front mounting plane of a switchgear cabinet or rack,

FIG. 2 a detail of an installation space of a switchgear cabinet or rack with front side mounting plane and vertical mounting profiles in a perspective view,

FIG. 3 a detail of the mounting plane in the region of a mounting section,

FIG. 4 a detailed view of the switchgear cabinet or rack in an upper front corner region of the installation space and of the mounting plane with several inserted installed units,

FIG. 5 a detail of the switchgear cabinet or rack in an upper front corner region with inserted antenna strip and a retaining element with transponder in a perspective view,

FIG. 6 a detail of the fixing plane in the region of a mounting section with vertical mounting profile, inserted antenna strip and attached retaining element with transponder,

FIGS. 7A to 7C a perspective view, a front view and a view of the rear end face of a retaining element with transponder element,

FIG. 8 a perspective detail representation of the front upper corner region of the switchgear cabinet or rack with an antenna strip prior to its mounting,

FIGS. 9A to 9D in FIG. 9A a perspective view of a section of the antenna strip at an angle to the rear, in partial images a), b) and c) of FIG. 9B the antenna strip in a front view, in a side view and in a rear view; in FIG. 9C a longitudinal section of the antenna strip taken along line C-C of image c) of FIG. 9B and in FIG. 9D a cross section of the antenna strip taken along line B-B of image a) of FIG. 9B,

FIG. 10 various views of the front mounting frame of the switchgear cabinet or rack having lateral vertical mounting profiles and a lower and an upper frame leg, shown in view A-A taken along, as well as enlarged detail representations,

FIG. 11 the front mounting frame of the switchgear cabinet or rack in a perspective view,

FIG. 12 a detail of the mounting frame of FIG. 11 in a connecting region of two strip modules that are pushed apart from another and

FIG. 13 an example of a screen representation of a mounting plane of a switchgear cabinet or rack having inserted installed units in form of server units.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a front view of a mounting plane 5 of a framework 1 of a switchgear cabinet or rack comprising several inserted installed units 20, such as e.g. server units, their height being for example one HE. Mounting plane 5 is laterally bound by front mounting faces of two vertical mounting profiles 10, 10′ and at the bottom by a lower frame leg 2 and at the top by an upper frame leg 3. Fixing sections 11 of said mounting profiles having rows of holes 11.1 adjoin on both sides at the edges of mounting profiles 10, 10′ delimiting the clear installation opening, said rows of holes possessing a narrow hole grid spacing of presently three fixing holes per unit of height HE. Mounting profiles 10, 10′ can be formed by lateral frame profiles of the framework and/or by separate mounting profiles.

Installed units 20 comprise laterally projecting flat mounting sections 21 which extend along the height of housings of installed units 20 and protrude beyond fixing sections 11 on both sides. In mounting sections 21, e.g. respectively two mounting holes 21.1 (cp. e.g. also FIG. 4), for example, are presently introduced in a double spacing of fixing holes 11.2 of row of holes 11.1 so that mounting holes 21.1 respectively skip one fixing hole 11.2.

In a region of a lateral mounting section, presently right hand mounting section 21 in front view, respective retaining elements 40 are arranged, for example adhesively bonded to mounting section 21 or at least clamped therebetween and fixing section 11, wherein a tongue-like support section 41 protrudes laterally and an antenna strip 30 inserted into said mounting profile 10 overlaps at the front, as can be clearer seen in the detailed illustration of FIG. 2 and in further illustrations of FIGS. 3, 4 and 5.

In FIGS. 7A, 7B, 7C retaining element 40 is reproduced individually in different views. Retaining elements 40 are made from flat plate-like material of small thickness of e.g. at most about 1 mm, for example metal or plastic, preferably by punching or cutting or by forming. Retaining element 40 comprises a connecting section 42 with openings 43 introduced therein which are open to the edge remote from support section 41 and have the shape of a portal. The vertical height dimension in a mounted state preferably corresponds to the height of mounting section 21, which normally corresponds to the housing height of an installed unit, thus e.g. one or more units of height, while lateral width dimension of connecting section 42 roughly corresponds to the width of mounting section 21 so that in the installed state the outer edge of connecting section 42 is approximately flush with the outer edge of mounting section 21, and also the upper and the lower edges of connecting section 42 and mounting section 21 are approximately flush. Support section 41, which extends only along a fraction, e.g. ½, ⅓, ¼ of the height of connecting section 42, which upper edge runs for example in extension of the upper edge of the connecting section, is preferably opaque and carries transponder element 44, in particular embodied as RFID tag, which is attached e.g. by adhesive bonding.

As shown in FIG. 2 in a perspective illustration, retaining elements 40 made of flat leaflet-shaped material for example of metal or plastic, are clamped via a connecting section 42 between the flat rear of the relevant mounting section 21 and the flat front of fixing section 11, wherein they were previously advantageously fixed to mounting section 21, for example by means of an adhesive layer applied thereto which is covered by a releasable protection sheet in a non-applied state. Mounting holes 21.1 harmonized with openings 43 regarding position and dimension, are introduced into connecting section 42 so that installed units 20 inserted into installation space 6 and abutting with their mounting sections 21 at fixing section 11 can be unhinderedly fastened to fixing sections 11 by means of screws as shown in FIG. 3. As can be further seen in FIG. 5, also openings 43 are aligned with respective fixing holes 11.2 of rows of holes 11.1.

As shown in FIG. 2 and in particular in the enlarged detailed illustration of FIG. 4 as well as also in FIGS. 5, 6 and 8, at least that mounting profile on the right hand side in a front view, to which antenna strip 30 is allocated, is provided with an inner boundary wall 13 of a cavity 14 for antenna strip 30 neighboring exteriorly the respective fixing section 11. Inner boundary walls 13 merges perpendicularly from its rear end remote from the front into an outwardly facing abutment section 12 in depth of cavity 14, to which antenna strip 30 is brought in abutment when inserted. Thereby, front of abutment section 12 is set back such a distance from the front mounting plane or the plane of fixing section 11, respectively, that antenna strip 30 does not protrude beyond front plane of fixing section 11 with its front face and is preferably flush therewith or is set back only a little bit. In particular in a flush arrangement of the front of antenna strip 30 on the front mounting plane, support section 41 carrying a transponder element 44 on its rear which is formed in particular as a RFID tag, is arranged at a distance to antenna strip 30 and antenna elements contained therein which distance is as small as possible so that a small transmission distance for transmission of information between transponder element 44 and the relevant antenna element will result.

As further seen in FIG. 8, a row of retaining holes 12.1 with at least two retaining holes 12.2 is formed in abutment section 12 which comprise a regular hole grid spacing in a vertical direction, for example in intervals of one or more units of height. Retaining holes 12.2 are rectangular or square and are aligned horizontally or vertically, respectively, with respect to the longitudinal direction of mounting profile 10 or 10′, respectively, with their hole boundary sides. Antenna strip 30 is provided with hook elements 33 on its rear which are for example produced by partly punching and bending the rear wall, wherein downwardly directed hook noses are formed which are spaced from the rear wall plane of antenna strip 30 by somewhat less than the wall thickness of the abutment section 12 around retaining holes 12.2, wherein said downwardly directly section is outwardly bent away from the rear wall plane of antenna strip 30 at its lower end section, so that easy engagement is achieved. Thereby, downwardly directed hook section is shorter than vertical opening clearance of retaining holes 12.2. Several such hooked elements are arranged along the length of antenna strip 30 which are harmonized with the hole grid spacing of retaining holes 12.2 or a multiple thereof. Further, the width of the hooks is harmonized with the width of retaining holes 12.2 such that they fit into retaining holes 12.2 with lateral slack which is as small as possible. Having these measures, antenna strip 30 can be inserted easily and precisely into support 14 and can be engaged with the front of abutment section 12 by its rear and subsequently be fixed by downward pushing, wherein retaining hooks 33 lead to a slight clamping effect.

As further shown in FIG. 8, a recess 4 is formed in upper horizontal frame leg 3 which also may be a mounting leg, flush with respect to the inserted antenna strip 30, which recess is at least as large as the outer cross section of antenna strip 30, so that it can unhinderedly be inserted even if it extends in an inserted state into the region of the upper end of vertical mounting profiles 10 or 10′, respectively, to use also the upper installation position of installation space 6. Thus, antenna strip 30 can be inserted protruding beyond vertical frame profile 10 or 10′, respectively, and then pushed downwardly for fixing.

As further shown in FIGS. 2, 4, 5 and 8, abutment section 12 merges at its outer edge into an outer side wall section 15 of mounting profile 10 or 10′, respectively, which is oriented backwards and in which a further vertical row of holes 15.1 with holes for mounting purposes is arranged. Support 14 could even be provided on its outer side with a further wall parallel to inner boundary wall 13 which protrudes with its front at most to the front mounting plane.

As shown in FIG. 8 and furthermore in FIGS. 9A to 9D, antenna strip 30 possesses a housing having a U-shaped, e.g. square or rectangular section having a base leg 34 and two lateral legs 35. A cover part 32 is inserted, for example snapped or engaged, into the front face, which is in a mounted state oriented to the front face of the switchgear cabinet or rack, respectively. Longitudinally running retaining grooves 36 for holding cover part 32 are formed near the free edge of lateral legs 35 on their inner side which overlap the free edges of preferably flat cover part 32 on its front and rear. Cover part 32 may also or in addition be glued. Furthermore, opposing holding ribs 37 are formed on the inside of lateral legs 35 which are offset inside with respect to retaining grooves 36, so that inside the U-shaped housing of antenna strip 30 further elements can be fixed, for example by means of fixed platelets, such as e.g. said antenna elements and supply lines as well as illuminating elements 31 (c.p. FIG. 6) to be described below. Preferably, cover part 32 is made permeable to light in a translucent or transparent manner, so that light of illuminating elements 31 penetrates and illuminating elements are clearly recognizable in their position, the interior of antenna strip 30, however, is preferably non visible. Appropriate is a correspondingly clouded glass having a light attenuation which is as small as possible and e.g. without selective spectral filter characteristics.

As it is shown in FIG. 6, illuminating elements 31 are also arranged in uniform grid spacing along the length of antenna strip 30, wherein e.g. three illuminating elements 31 per unit of height HE are inserted. Two of these illuminating elements 31 are exposed aside mounting section 21 or connecting section 42 of retaining element 40 and are in a driven illuminating state when installed unit 20 is inserted, while a third illuminating element 31 per unit of height is covered by support section 41 of retaining element 40 when installed unit 20 is inserted which retaining element extends in vertical direction only along one third of a unit of height HE. Thus, installation positions are displayed to a viewer which can be visually well recognized, wherein occupied installation positions can be easily perceived. Illuminating elements 31 can be driven by a control unit (not shown), as for example described in DE 10 2007 034 437 A1 mentioned in the introductory, wherein different driving modes are possible, e.g. in various colors by using light emitting diodes which can be driven to emit different colors or in various flash modes or in a continuous light operation, respectively. Illuminating elements 31 are thereby driven dependent on information received from transponder elements 44 and transferred to the control unit via the antenna elements. Antenna elements can be arranged with same grid spacing and closely adjacent to illuminating elements 31, so that unique detection of information and positional allocation can be achieved. Further signaling can be controlled dependent on the operating state of the installed units, characteristics which are e.g. programmed on the manufacturing side into transponder elements 44 and their installation position, wherein the control unit may also cooperate with a superordinate evaluation unit and with register units.

As shown in FIG. 10, a recess 4′ for downwardly displacing antenna strip 30 may also be formed into lower frame leg 2. Both vertical mounting profiles 10, 10′ may comprise the same or a different construction, as shown in enlarged detail views B and C.

As it is shown in FIG. 11 and in the enlarged detailed illustration of FIG. 12, strip module 30 can be composed of several strip modules 30.1, 30.2, which can be plugged together in an electrically conducting manner via a plug/coupling unit 38, whereby also a mechanical connection is achieved which, however, may additionally be completed by means of engagement elements or other plug elements. Strip modules 30.1, 30.2 preferably extend over a number of units of height and comprise a length which is harmonized with different common heights of switchgear cabinets, so that the smallest module fits into a switchgear cabinet of smallest height and an antenna strip 30 for a higher switchgear cabinet is obtained by plugging a number of strip modules 30.1, 30.2 together.

FIG. 13 shows an example of a display on a screen of a remote display station, wherein the mounting plane of a switchgear cabinet or rack together with its units of height HE1 to HE42 with occupied installation positions is represented on a display screen 50. Further to the mounting plane additional information with respect to the individual installed units, for example server units, is faded in which reproduces the current status and characteristics of the installed units 20. Such information can be partly stored, on the other hand produced in transponder elements 44, in particular RFID tags and transferred via the antenna elements and the control unit. Further, the information contained in the RFID tags and transferred to the control unit, register means or superordinate monitoring means can be supplemented with further information with respect to installed units 20, such as e.g. technical data, which is stored therein. 

The invention claimed is:
 1. A switchgear cabinet or rack comprising a mounting unit, the front of which has vertical mounting profiles that laterally delimit an installation space for installed user-side units, said profiles having flat fixing sections that lie on a front mounting plane and that are used to fix laterally projecting mounting sections of the installed units, and comprising components of a detection device for determining the presence of an installed unit in an installation position of the cabinet frame, wherein the components of the detection device have a vertical antenna strip that is attached to a mounting profile and contains antenna elements arranged therein and code carriers that are designed as transponder elements and are provided on the installed units, wherein the relevant transponder element is attached to the mounting section of the associated installed unit that adjoins the antenna strip by means of a retaining element via a connecting section, and the retaining element has a support section that adjoins the connecting section and projects outwards, parallel to the mounting plane, wherein the transponder element is attached to the support section.
 2. The switchgear cabinet or rack of claim 1, wherein said retaining element is flat and is arranged with its connecting section on the rear of said mounting section which is also flat, and is pressed against the front of said fixing section together therewith.
 3. The switchgear cabinet or rack of claim 1, wherein said connecting section is adhesively bonded to the mounting section.
 4. The switchgear cabinet or rack of claim 1, wherein said fixing section is provided with a row of holes having fixing holes arranged in a regular grid spacing, one or more mounting holes harmonized with the position of the fixing holes is/are arranged in said mounting section and also in said connecting section, openings harmonized with the position of the mounting holes are arranged.
 5. The switchgear cabinet or rack of claim 1, wherein said connecting section extends in longitudinal direction of said mounting profile over the height of mounting section, in particular a unit of height HE, and extends to the outer side to the free edge of the mounting section.
 6. The switchgear cabinet or rack of claim 1, wherein said support section extends in its height over a fraction of said connecting section.
 7. The switchgear cabinet or rack of claim 1, wherein said antenna strip lies with its front face on the mounting plane or is set back in relation thereto by a maximum of 10 mm and that said support section with said transponder element in an installed state of the associated installed unit overlaps the front face of said antenna strip.
 8. The switchgear cabinet or rack of claim 7, wherein said mounting profile comprises a cavity at least partly adapted to the section of said antenna strip, with an abutment section set back in relation to the mounting plane at least by the cross section depth of the antenna strip and with an inner boundary wall delimiting said cavity on its face facing the installation space which wall merges into said fixing section.
 9. The switchgear cabinet or rack of claim 8, wherein said abutment section and said inner boundary wall are perpendicularly arranged in cross section of said cavity, wherein said abutment section is oriented parallel to said mounting plane and said boundary wall merges perpendicularly into said fixing section.
 10. The switchgear cabinet or rack of claim 7, wherein said antenna strip possesses square or rectangular cross section.
 11. The switchgear cabinet or rack of claim 7, wherein a row of retaining holes is arranged in said abutment section having retaining holes arranged in regular grid spacing, wherein said retaining holes are square or rectangular with longitudinal faces running in longitudinal direction of said mounting profile, said antenna strip is provided with retaining hooks on the rear facing the abutment section which are harmonized to the spacing of said retaining holes or a multiple thereof and comprise vertical hook sections which possess a smaller length than the clear opening width of said retaining hole in vertical direction and which are spaced from the rear outer face of said antenna strip to engage behind a wall region of said abutment section surrounding said retaining holes with a clamping force, and spaced antenna elements are arranged in the interior of said antenna strip within grid of a unit of height HE or an integer multiple thereof or in regular partial spacing thereof in longitudinal direction of said antenna unit.
 12. The switchgear cabinet or rack of claim 7, wherein said antenna strip is provided with a fixedly or removably attached cover part at its front face in relation to its installation position which is at least in sections transparent, illuminating elements are arranged in the interior of said antenna strip which are arranged in longitudinal direction of said antenna strip in a regular grid spacing within grid of a unit of height HE or an integer multiple thereof or in regular partial spacing thereof, are individually controllable and are accurately visible in an illuminating state through said transparent cover part and said support section is opaque and covers at least one illuminating element at its front face. 